Sony 10" Tab - TV's Best Mate

Sony says its latest tab offers an "immersive entertainment experience" and comes jam-packed with Sony entertainment apps and will also control your TV and Blu ray player.

The 9.4" Xperia Tablet S, just announced at the IFA in Berlin overnight, runs on Android 4.0, is decked out with a potent NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, has a thin and light aluminum body with none of the plastic finishes of Sony's former tabs.

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It also has Wi-Fi, ClearAudio+ mode which promises to deliver "distinctly Sony" sound quality and interestingly the LCD screen is splash proof, but still recognizes touch gestures from wet hands.

Other connectivity options include a full-sized SD card slot for expanded storage and HDMI connectivity (plus optional adapter cable) to hook up to a TV or other DLNA enabled device.

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Sony says it wants to take the tablet into the living room so it has made it friendlier to other devices, like TV and Blu-ray, as the Xperia S remote will let you power all these other devices.

Sony's 'Watch Now' app also offers an interactive program guide for your TV, which can be fine tuned to personal preference and trends from Facebook and Twitter. All from the comfort of your Android Ice Cream Sandwich tablet.

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Users can also discover new shows based on intelligent recommendations from the app.

It also comes with a slew of Sony Entertainment services preloaded including Video Unlimited for movies and TV shows on-demand, Music Unlimited for tunes and cached playlists for offline listening., PlayMemories Online, Reader app, Walkman, Album and Movies to consume content.

Xperia Tablet S owners will also be able to enjoy dedicated content from PlayStation Mobile in the coming months.

And for multiple users within in a family, 'Guest Mode' allows for personalized configurations for different users including personalised wallpaper, apps and widgets.

"We wanted to enhance that living room experience by providing interactive and useful features with the Xperia Tablet S," said Phil Lubell, Sony VP networked technologies and services.

The Xperia Tablet S comes in 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB versions for about US$399, $499 and $599 respectively, available from September 7 in the US.